Dog roll vs dog biscuits...

[slim6y]

I already have an idea about the answer to this - but I'd like to get several people's inputs that aren't necessarily vets trying to push the most expensive dog biscuits on the market on me.

Rather than feed you my opinion - this is what the vet said:

Do not feed your dog dog roll, it is usually low quality, full of fat and salt etc etc.

She also said the minimum standard is AFFCO.

I recently became a new dog owner (not being able to own snakes in NZ) and I am loving every minute of it. I have a wonderful puppy now 14 weeks old and he's a very good boy.

But... He doesn't like his biscuits (despite them being something like $40 per bag).

The vet has said, do not give him dog roll and keep at him with the biscuits. But I noted that the dog rolls even have the AFFCO backing on them and ingredients say beef, lamb, chicken, no salts, no colours etc.

So - what do you do for your dogs?

Like snakes, only the best is the real option - but is a vet just pushing their $40 small bags of awesome dog food on you? Or is there a real point behind the dog roll's hidden nasties?

 

[snakeynewbie]

I feed left over veggies from dinner plus chicken necks/frames, etc(whatever is cheapest) little bit of dog roll plus a sprinkling of dog biscuits and I usually stick a raw egg into their dinner as well, shell and all.

We get lots of comments on how great our dogs look and in eight years the only non standard vet treatment either of them has needed has been for a possible snake bite last year so it seems t be doing them pretty well.

 

[kitten_pheonix]

I agree the dog rolls are a waste of time there 90% water head to your butcher and grab some dog mince, chuck in some pasta or rice and some frozen veggies and freeze. Better than store bought food as its not full of preservatives or salt. But after doing animal care dog Vic's are alot like milk half the time the cheap stuff is the expensive brand in a cheaper package. Mix the biscuits in he may not like the hard part of it and only like soft thing another thing u can do is cover them in gravy

 

[KaotikJezta]

Raw meaty bones and raw mince is all they need with ta weekly serve of organ meat, egg and fish. You can add a small amount of veges but it is not at all necessary.

 

[slim6y]

Was informed raw egg whites are no good because they contain avidin which can interfere with the absorption of vitamin B. Plus raw egg may contain salmonella too (though unlikely with the antibiotic we feed chickens these days).

I will try the butcher and pet meat, but would like to balance the diet with biscuits too.

I'm trying biscuits soaked in water - I think his real issue is (he likes them) they're hard to eat!

Here's a pic of him anyway (thought you better see who you're helping to be a strong pup )

 

[snakeynewbie]

Salmonella can be a concern with shop bought eggs especially as they are stored for a while often. Our eggs are harvested daily from our own crooks and are rarely stored for more than a few days before being used. I'm quite enjoying the change of having that luxury, nothing like home grown eggs.

 

[slim6y]

I still think cooking the egg is important to remove avidin from the egg white.

 

[KaotikJezta]

you don't need biscuits to balance the diet, a raw diet is already balanced. One egg every week or two is fine. Biscuits are mainly cereal fillers with meat byproducts, and the coating is really bad for their teeth.

 

[Frosty]

My boy is 17 years old. Fresh meat mixed with some fresh vegies and dry biscuits a couple days a week. To much dry food will bind them up making it hard to poo.

 

[GC_Pet_Centre]

Most of the time, vets will promote the food that sponsors their clinic, which isn't a bad thing, because usually its a really good food. But any of the super premium dog biscuits (not the supermarket stuff) are good quality, but every dog is different, and what works for your dog, might not work for others. Its the same with us; take apples for example, they are one of the healthiest foods around, yet some people are allergic to them! Same with dogs.
The better quality food you can buy or make, the better. A bad quality food, or dog roll can be like Macdonalds to humans - you can live on it, it tastes great, but it doesn't do any good in the long run.
The other benefit to biscuits over softer food is oral health. A dog that isn't fed on hard biscuits throughout his/her life with usually have dental problems, or can even lose teeth within 3-4 years.
I think that if you talk to anyone who has bred or shown dogs, or anyone who rehabilitates dogs will have their own foods that work for them, and it can be different depending on the breed as well. A great dane will have different requirements to a tibetan spaniel, or border collie for example.

If you decide to continue using biscuits, there are a few tricks that our puppy department use to get them a bit more interested. Usually soaking the bickies in hot water for a little while before feeding usually does the trick. If not, they soften it right down to mush and slowly reduce the mush-factor until they are used to the biscuits. If that doesn't work, they feed tinned food or chicken mince at a 50:50 ratio with biscuits and then reduce the amount of mince as time goes on. That usually does the trick.

 

[slim6y]

I'm trying to get him to love Hills Science Diet... Being the science buff and all

Will try cold water.... then maybe hot water.... meh... I'll get him to eat them one way or another...

 

[nagini-baby]

Put them with warm wheetbix. Puppies love it. Its the only way we can get mums old dog to eat in summer..

 

[KaotikJezta]

You do realise the top ingredient in Hills is corn, and then 2nd or 3rd meat byproducts. It may be expensive but it is not what I would call premium by a long shot. Mixing it with water just makes it even worse for oral health.

 

[thomasssss]

try soaking the biscuits in lactose free milk worked for my pup she was really fussy to as a little one

 

[slim6y]

You do realise the top ingredient in Hills is corn, and then 2nd or 3rd meat byproducts. It may be expensive but it is not what I would call premium by a long shot. Mixing it with water just makes it even worse for oral health.

Yes, he's corn fed

He seems to like the biscuits soaked in water.

 

[Smithers]

I'd never feed dog roll even if that's all I had in the fridge. Processed nasty stuff, Dog kibble is a once a week thing for mine. Raw is the best option. The bulk of the diet is chicken carcass, necks 80%, mince meat,offal,raw fish,vege's,rice = 20%

 

[slim6y]

Oh, and for oral health - he won't stay on watered down biscuits - it's temporary to get him back on them permanently.

But it is funny you should mention the byproducts, because ironically. the same vet warned us to steer clear of byproduct... hmmmmmm

 

[phantomreptiles]

Most of the time, vets will promote the food that sponsors their clinic, which isn't a bad thing, because usually its a really good food. But any of the super premium dog biscuits (not the supermarket stuff) are good quality, but every dog is different, and what works for your dog, might not work for others. Its the same with us; take apples for example, they are one of the healthiest foods around, yet some people are allergic to them! Same with dogs.
The better quality food you can buy or make, the better. A bad quality food, or dog roll can be like Macdonalds to humans - you can live on it, it tastes great, but it doesn't do any good in the long run.
The other benefit to biscuits over softer food is oral health. A dog that isn't fed on hard biscuits throughout his/her life with usually have dental problems, or can even lose teeth within 3-4 years.
I think that if you talk to anyone who has bred or shown dogs, or anyone who rehabilitates dogs will have their own foods that work for them, and it can be different depending on the breed as well. A great dane will have different requirements to a tibetan spaniel, or border collie for example.

If you decide to continue using biscuits, there are a few tricks that our puppy department use to get them a bit more interested. Usually soaking the bickies in hot water for a little while before feeding usually does the trick. If not, they soften it right down to mush and slowly reduce the mush-factor until they are used to the biscuits. If that doesn't work, they feed tinned food or chicken mince at a 50:50 ratio with biscuits and then reduce the amount of mince as time goes on. That usually does the trick.

Agree 100%
There is always going to be disagreements in regards to dog food.
Only thing I will add is if you must feed raw bones make sure it is a femur, and never use bones that have a sawn end. Number one thing to cause slab fractures in dogs teeth.

 

[Firedrake]

Raw femurs are recreational only, you shouldn't give dogs those as a meal. The raw chicken necks and carcasses, with offal and maybe some veges should be all they need as a meal. Don't give them chicken femurs as they can splinter and lamb is a bit too fatty and rich imo. I've honestly never seen a dog that looks better than one on the BARF (bones and raw food) diet and it shouldn't take that much longer to prepare than the kibble and tinned or dog roll meal. Chicken necks/carcasses and lamb hearts/brains/kidneys are all normally available at the supermarket or if they don't have them I'm sure the butchers will.

 

[Jay84]

slim6y, do a google search 'dog food advisor'. You will be SHOCKED at what bad ratings all the expensive ''recommended by vets'' kibble get!

These expensive foods are rubbish and not worth the money. I was feeding my little one Advance and paying out of my *** for it! His behaviour changed, he became hyperactive and the most annoying little dog! He also developed 4 bald patches, 2 of which were very large. The vets didn't know what was causing it.

I decided at that point to change his diet, to RAW. Almost instantly his behaviour changed, he was still a playful puppy, but not the annoying disobedient jumping all over you puppy like a kid on red lollies! Within 2 weeks his bald patches were growing back, they have now totally disappeared.

I go to the Queen Victoria Market every fortnight and buy livers, kidneys, hearts, tongue and chicken necks. I chop it all up and mix it and weigh it out into individual portions. I also get ''Vets all Natural'' complete mix. This is like a dry muesli mix that you soak in water, it replicates the stomach contents of a prey animal that a wild dog would eat on a kill.

I will never go back to feeding processed or commercial dog foods.